Post by pj on Sept 12, 2010 16:59:06 GMT -5
Geithner set to appear before Senate Banking Committee
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is slated to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Sept. 16 to discuss the department's report on international exchange rates — but with looming questions over Chinese currency policies, the visit could be far from cordial.
Several senators, led by Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, have attacked the Obama administration for its reluctance to categorize China as a currency manipulator. With a stalled domestic economy and an intensifying political climate heading into November elections, Geithner will be an easy target for senators looking to complain over a policy they believe gives China an unfair trading advantage.
Ripping into the Treasury's metrics for rating foreign economies and their exchange rates has become more commonplace since April, when a bipartisan coalition of senators — including Schumer, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) — introduced legislation to force the administration's hand in taking a harsher approach to China and other currency manipulators.
Schumer was highly critical of President George W. Bush's Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson on this same issue and thought he could exert pressure on Geithner. As recently as last week, Schumer took a shot at the Commerce Department for refusing to investigate China's currency practices, despite the fact that a department report revealed $514 million worth of unfairly subsidized Chinese aluminum exports to the United States in 2009.
"Once again, even when the opportunity is thrust into its hands, the administration has refused to take action," Schumer said in a statement. "This ruling, while welcomed, is still incomplete. The Commerce Department made its finding while still managing to ignore the elephant in the room, which is China's currency manipulation."
www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0910/Geithner_set_to_appear_before_Senate_Banking_Committee.html
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is slated to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Sept. 16 to discuss the department's report on international exchange rates — but with looming questions over Chinese currency policies, the visit could be far from cordial.
Several senators, led by Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, have attacked the Obama administration for its reluctance to categorize China as a currency manipulator. With a stalled domestic economy and an intensifying political climate heading into November elections, Geithner will be an easy target for senators looking to complain over a policy they believe gives China an unfair trading advantage.
Ripping into the Treasury's metrics for rating foreign economies and their exchange rates has become more commonplace since April, when a bipartisan coalition of senators — including Schumer, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) — introduced legislation to force the administration's hand in taking a harsher approach to China and other currency manipulators.
Schumer was highly critical of President George W. Bush's Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson on this same issue and thought he could exert pressure on Geithner. As recently as last week, Schumer took a shot at the Commerce Department for refusing to investigate China's currency practices, despite the fact that a department report revealed $514 million worth of unfairly subsidized Chinese aluminum exports to the United States in 2009.
"Once again, even when the opportunity is thrust into its hands, the administration has refused to take action," Schumer said in a statement. "This ruling, while welcomed, is still incomplete. The Commerce Department made its finding while still managing to ignore the elephant in the room, which is China's currency manipulation."
www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0910/Geithner_set_to_appear_before_Senate_Banking_Committee.html